An assessment of the ASUS Transformer Pad TF300 (Page 2)

You can think of it as a diluted Prime. Envision it as a diluted Prime. There is no doubt about it; the TF300 shares quite a bit of predominant design language with that of the original. Even though now that there are several Transformers on the market the lineup still feels in harmony with one another. Even so, with a starting price at $379, the company naturally chose to hold back some of the improvements that make the Prime worth the premium. Well, you need to have a motive to pay top dollar for this ASUS product. I am sure that you all agree with me.

Well first and foremost, plastic is what the spunback is made of instead of metal, therefore even though it appears to look like the Prime andZenbook line, the build quality is not really quite as impressive. Meanwhile, the body itself has widened to .38 inches (9.7mm), up from .33 (8.4mm) on the Prime. When it comes to weight, the TF300 tips the scales at 1.39 pounds, compared with 1.28 for the original. Although all of this does not mean alot: even with those dimensions, the TF300 is able to appear thinner than the new Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and Acer Iconia Tab A200. Two of which are similarly priced tablets that measure .41 and .49 inches thick.

When it comes to the weight, the 1.29 pound Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and its cousin Prime are much lighter than the TF300. The TF300 is considerably heavier.For what it's worth, though, it offers roughly the same runtime as the A200, which weighs a fifth of a pound more. We haven't yet tested the second-gen 10.1, so we can't yet speak about its battery life but it will be enough to say its lighter weight will not be much of an advantage if the battery that lays inside is not as enduring as it tough rivals.

In the end what do all these statistics mean? A pretty great tablet we think! No, this is not as impressive or as incredibly slim as the Prime. But if you were intending on spending $500 on a tablet, you would have done it by now! Compared to the $399 Tab 2 10.1 and $350 A200, the total package here is slightly more sophisticated, though we've also got kind things to say about the muted finish on the 10.1, and the non-slip backing on the A200. While on the topic of sophistication,the tablet we tested had a backing that was of dark blue coloring, and that is in fact the version you will see on sale at the start of this week. In the end, it will most likely be on the market in such energetic and youthful colours such as red and white. But you may have to wait till around June to see them on the market.